In my last blog post I commented on Dr. Gabor Maté's theory that parental stress causes autism disorders including Autistic Disorder. Dr. Maté is reported to have admitted that he had no proof of his theory but asked what else could be behind rising rates of autism disorder diagnoses. The first picture of my son Conor above was taken today. Conor was diagnosed at age 2 with Autistic Disorder. Below are some pictures of Conor as an infant, followed by a number taken at different points in Conor's life. Stress induced autism? I don't think so and I don't think Conor would agree with Dr. Maté's wild speculation either.

7 comments:

LOL, Claire we WERE living in Burlington and I worked in downtown T.O. (Eaton Centre)when both of our sons were born. We moved back home to Freddy Beach (Fredericton)shortly after Conor's 1st birthday, before his autism diagnosis at age 2.

I can't imagine how things would have turned out if I had still been working out of TO with roughly 4.5 hours of commuting time each day, time I would not have had for either of my sons.

You know Harold I dont usually visit your blog because I often find we come at things from very different perspectives, but came across your blog link on another blog and thought I'd pop in to see what you were on about today. Imagine my surprise and delight at seeing the gorgeous pics of your family. Particularly your beautiful son. Reallly lovely. You must be incredibly proud of him.

You have a very adorable son! Did he wear braces or does he have naturally perfect teeth?

In my experience, it's been the other way around; I wasn't stressed out until I'd been living with my children's autism for awhile. Parental stress doesn't cause autism - autism causes parental stress.

101 Noteworthy Sites on Asperger's & Autism Spectrum Disorders

Facing Autism on Facebook

Why ABA For Autism?

The effectiveness of ABA-based intervention in ASDs has been well documented through 5 decades of research by using single-subject methodology21,25,27,28 and in controlled studies of comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention programs in university and community settings.29–40 Children who receive early intensive behavioral treatment have been shown to make substantial, sustained gains in IQ, language, academic performance, and adaptive behavior as well as some measures of social behavior, and their outcomes have been significantly better than those of children in control groups.31–4American Academy of Pediatrics, Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

"We have to look also at environmental factors, and from my point of view, the interaction between the genetic factors and the environmental factors ... It looks like some shared environmental factors play a role in autism, and the study really points toward factors that are early in life that affect the development of the child"
Joachim Hallmayer, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University in California

Even Out Environmental and Genetic Autism Research Funding

Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones.

We need to even out the funding.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Researcher

My Autism Pledge For Conor

Today I pledge to continue;I Pledge to continue to fight for the availability of effective autism treatments;I Pledge to continue to fight for a real education for autistic children;I Pledge to continue to fight for decent residential care for autistic adults;I Pledge to continue to fight for a cure for autism;I Pledge to continue finding joy in my son but not in the autism disorder that restricts his life;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to hope for a better life for Conor and others with autism, through accommodation, care, respect, treatment, and some day, a cure;Today, and every day, I Pledge to continue to fight for the best possible life for Conor, my son with autistic disorder.

Dr. Jon Poling : Blinders Won’t Reduce Autism

"Fortunately, the ‘better diagnosis’ myth has been soundly debunked. ... only a smaller percentage of this staggering rise can be explained by means other than a true increase.

Because purely genetic diseases do not rise precipitously, the corollary to a true autism increase is clear — genes only load the gun and it is the environment that pulls the trigger. Autism is best redefined as an environmental disease with genetic susceptibilities."

We should be investing our research dollars into discovering environmental factors that we can change, not more poorly targeted genetic studies that offer no hope of early intervention. Pesticides, mercury, aluminum, several drugs, dietary factors, infectious agents and yes — vaccines — are all in the research agenda.